LA County Reports ‘Unprecedented Cluster’ of Locally Acquired Dengue Fever
While the East Coast is winding down from the dengue drama,the West Coast may be in the middle of its “break-bone fever” season.
Back in 2016, I reported that cases of dengue fever were being reported in Florida and Hawaii. Dengue (break-bone fever) is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people and is more common in tropical and subtropical climates. It has not been common for Americans to become infected without traveling abroad.
In July, I shared the news that Florida health officials issued a dengue fever alert after a second case of a locally acquired infection was reported in the Keys and several more were reported in Miami-Dade County, and that 200 New York and New Jersey residents have been diagnosed with “break-bone Fever.”
Now there are reports of an ‘unprecedented cluster’ of locally acquired dengue fever in Los Angeles County.
Two more cases of the mosquito-borne dengue virus were confirmed Wednesday in Baldwin Park, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Including the case announced last week, the three cases make up an “unprecedented number of locally transmitted cases for a region where dengue has not previously been transmitted by mosquitoes,” the department said.
The two latest victims of the virus had no history of travel to regions where dengue is endemic before they started showing symptoms, officials said.
“Ensuring the health and safety of our community is our top priority,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said. “The recent discovery of dengue cases in Baldwin Park underscores the need for vigilance and proactive measures.”
Usually, those who contract dengue have traveled to a tropical area where infected Aedes mosquitoes are present. The cluster is concerning because these are cases where there has been no known travel outside the US.
So far this year, 82 cases have been reported in LA County by people returning from traveling abroad, health officials said.
But the three locally-acquired cases are particularly concerning, they added.
“These additional cases of local virus transmission are a stark reminder for all Los Angeles County residents that simple steps to prevent mosquito breeding and mosquito bites can lower the risk of mosquito-borne diseases and prevent more sustained transmission in the future,” health officials stressed in the notice.
Individuals can experience a range of symptoms, including Fever, rash, muscle aches, headache, and the bone pain for which the disease is most known. One-in-twenty infected people can develop life-threatening effects due to infection. People can get multiple infections with the dengue virus, and each infection increases the risk of more serious symptoms arising.
There is no current treatment for dengue, and public health officials are focused on providing information on how to reduce the risks of getting bitten by mosquitos.
“We remind residents that mosquitoes breed in standing water,” said Jason Farned, MPA, District Manager of the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District
Mosquito samples so far remain dengue-free. San Gabriel Valley Mosquito & Vector Control District staff are going door-to-door in areas where the cases occurred to show residents how to protect themselves and rid their homes of mosquitoes.
“Granting access to your backyards will significantly enhance our ability to reduce mosquito populations and prevent potential infections,” said Farned.
Dengue vaccines are not approved for U.S. residents nor travelers. Instead, health officials encourage use of bug repellents containing at least one of these four ingredients: Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, DEET, Picaridin or IR3535.
Peak mosquito season in southern California is June through November. So while the East Coast is winding down from the dengue drama, the West Coast may be in the middle of its “break-bone fever” season.
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Attack of the Gates Mosquitoes.
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What really blows is Dengue is particularly preventable in much of North America because the mosquito most likely to carry Dengue is the Aedes mosquito. If any invasive colonization of Aedes is detected and remediated aggressively, we won’t have a Dengue problem. Unfortunately, the biggest population of Aedes right now is in Southern California, an area that is prohibited by the state’s insane eco laws from aggressively attacking the invasive mosquito population. So, here we are, talking about Dengue.
How about illegals coming from tropical areas with it? I bet that we will see lots of instances of diseases (and unknown variations not seen before) that we thought were eradicated cropping up all over thanks to the Biden-Harris open border policy,.
While the amount of concern the rest of the country may have about these events happening in Los Angeles County may well be limited; it is actually fairly obvious how the disease got here, is being spread, and why it will continue to spread. As noted above the California approach to pest and disease control values the diseases and pests above people. Thus a surplus of Aedes mosquitoes happily reproducing. The waves of hostile foreign invaders swarming in from the south surely included carriers of Dengue feaver. The mosquitoes bite the infected carriers and then reproduce uninhibited by disease control methods. And the disease will continue to spread until it crosses a border into a polity that believes in controlling epidemics.
It is what it is, as we go from First World to Third World.
Subotai Bahadur
Time to mirror California’s “Fruit Nazi” entrance inspection stations on all major highways at the CA border, with “Mosquito Threat” exit inspection stations inside the bordering states.
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I’m pretty sure every illegal alien has travelled outside the US
Import the 3d World, have 3d World problems.